Idea Versus Premise
One of the best storytelling truths I’ve ever heard came from a big-time agent delivering the keynote at a major writing conference:
“When you hatch a new story idea, the first thing you should do is … run.”
We should consider and honor the source, who would know. Because …
Not all story ideas are great story ideas.
As a story coach who sees dozens of fresh new story ideas each year, I can endorse this as true. In today’s competitive market for fiction, great—fresh, compelling, resonant, and intriguing—is required to get your story into the game. Good just isn’t good enough any longer.
Lesser story ideas—granted, this is a judgment call made by agents, editors, and readers—too often lead to commodity stories. A higher ambition challenges us to understand how to recognize a genuinely strong idea when it manifests, and how to imbue it with the stuff of greatness when we
